Album Review: The Pale White – The Pale White EP

British indie guitar rock brings with it a promise of catchy riffs and melodic choruses that leave you with no choice but to move your feet. Whilst The Pale White certainly deliver on this with their debut self-titled EP, you can’t help but notice the striking resemblances between their sound and that of the indie giants that currently dominate the genre.

‘Downer’ is by far the stand out track on the EP, leaving you subconsciously rocking along with some air guitar and drums

The first half of the EP, specifically second track ‘Let You Down’, has a resounding resemblance to the uniquely crafted sound of the Arctic Monkeys, and in doing so The Pale Whites lose some of their authenticity and originality in what is ultimately a very solid and promising up and coming band. This problem perhaps lays fundamentally in the EPs production rather than the songs themselves, with the distorted condensed lead vocal effects and classic tube-amp style guitar tones on ‘Reaction’, ‘Let You Down’ and ‘Turn It Around’ making the tracks inescapable from comparison.

There is little doubt that this definitely won’t be the last we hear of The Pale White

By no means does that suggest that artists should stray from the classic indie rock recipe. Indeed, it is the sing along baiting chorus, ear grabbing bass line and memorable lead riff that makes latest single ‘Downer’ by far the stand out track on the EP, leaving you subconsciously rocking along with some air guitar and drums, and humming the thumping chorus line for the more than foreseeable future. The track establishes The Pale White as a band both capable and destined for far greater venues, and with the band selling out the toilet circuit and securing high profile support slots on the latest Twin Atlantic tour, there is little doubt that this definitely won’t be the last we hear of The Pale White.